Parliament Flashcards
1
Q
When were the parliament acts passed and what did they do
A
- 1911 and 1949
- made commons the dominant chamber
- Lords can’t delay financial bills
- Salisbury doctrine: can’t delay manifesto bills
2
Q
What is the role of the speaker
A
- during elections stand as “speaker seeking re election” and usually no party oppose them e.g only Green ran against Lindsay Hoyle
- speaker resigns from their party
- decides who speaks and enforce rules of house e.g can’t call someone a liar
- decides what will be debated and decides whether to allow emergency debates
- if tie in voting they can vote
3
Q
What is the opposition
A
- second largest party in commons head of the second largest party becomes head of opposition
- appoints shadow cabinet who develop and scrutinize policies for each department
- referred as ‘government in waiting’
- term opposition can be all opposition parties but official opposition is second largest
4
Q
How does the opposition scrutinize government
A
- speaking against government and tend to vote against them
- Order No. 14 allocated 20 days each session for opposition to choose main topic of business and table motions 3 days go to smaller parties
- opposition asks up to 6 questions during PMQ
- select committees are cross party which scrutinize departments or issues allocated in proportion to number of seats
- temporary committees inspect bills
5
Q
What is the opposition leaders role
A
- if opposition leader tables motion of no confidence needs to be promptly debated in commons
- government has no majority mechanism called “humble address” demands papers from government
- opposition leader and whips get additional wages not shadow cabinet
- leaders from both sides communicate on important matters
- party leaders and whips from both sides communicate through the ‘usual channels’
- opposition doesn’t obstruct
6
Q
What is the role of backbenchers
A
- can introduce private members bills in parliament
- involved in debates in parliament
- roles in government select committees to scrutinize departments
- severely limited by party discipline and fear of losing whip
7
Q
What is the House of Lords
A
- unelected and subordinate chamber
- members known as peers don’t have salaries but get daily attendance allowance
- chaired by Lord Speaker (currently Lord McFall)
- different categories of member:
- Hereditary peers
- Life Peers
- Lords spiritual: two archbishops and 24 senior bishops of Church of England
8
Q
What changes have been made to hereditary peers
A
- House of Lords Act 1999 got rid of all but 92 hereditary peers before there were more than 750
- Peerage act 1963 allowed hereditary peers to remove their title this allowed Alec Douglas Home to become PM and allowed female hereditary peers
- House of Lords Act 1999 created ‘elected hereditary peers’
9
Q
What are life peers
A
- Life peerage act 1958 allowed PM to appoint members to the Lords
- can’t pass down their seat largest category in Lords 681 December 2020
- 20% Lords are Former MPs aswell as leading figures in business and education and play more active par part in Lords
- PM change party balance in Lords using life peers
10
Q
what are some critiques of the House of Lords
A
- some want fully elected 2nd chamber
- still too dominated by political appointees so party strength in 2nd chamber decided by PM
- lack of diversity
- no separation of church and state
- too large 1,300 members not may show up
- cost to taxpayers
11
Q
what are the 3 types of private members bill
A
- ballot bill: most common one drawn from ballot in reverse order 20-1
- ten minute bill: introduced during prime hours if not opposed goes to 2nd reading
- presentation bill
12
Q
what is needed to pass private members bill
A
- needs support from both backbench MP and backbench peer in lords to go through each chamber
- 13 Fridays for PMB (65 hours)
- needs support of government to not shoot it down
13
Q
what are programme motions
A
- set out how long MP’s have to debate and scrutinise bill at each stage of passage
- usually tabled by government immediately after 2nd reading MP’s can choose to approve or disapprove but can’t amend
14
Q
what are Closure motions
A
- way to end particular stage of bill
- and MP can use a closure motion most commonly used during debates over PMB to stop it being ‘talked out’
- up to speaker to decide whether to accept closure motion
- can be agreed ‘on the voices’ but can be formal vote which requires 100 MPs to pass
15
Q
What are guillotine motions
A
- limits the amount of time for particular stage of bill
- debate ceases after allocated time ends before going to a vote to pass the bill to the next stage
16
Q
what is a select committee
A
- established in 1979 scrutinises policy, administration and expenditure of government departments
- made up of 11 MPs and proportional to party strength (advantage to executive)
17
Q
what are the powers of select committees
A
- can call for persons, papers and records e.g. Jeremy Hunt as Health minister appeared before Health select committee about health managers redundancies
- investigate different issues and write reports e.g. Rwanda bill
- make recommendations to government
18
Q
strengths of select committees(6)
A
- means of specialization on a topic
- act as deterrents against those going against public interests
- promote open government
- policy influencers
- act as safety valves
- committee chairperson now more independent as MPs vote for their chairmen since 2010 allows backbenchers alternative career outside executive
19
Q
weaknesses of select committees(6)
A
- inadequate resources £16 million pa 5% of houses budget
- amateurish approach: don’t have training in questioning skills therefore often fail interrogations
- limited powers: Cameron and Blair both refused to appear before foreign affairs select committee
- limited linkage to floor of the house
- limited influence as government can just ignore recommendations on policy
- wilting under pressure: don’t always have time to read all reports
20
Q
what is the Liaison Committee
A
- considers overall work of all select committees made up of chairs of each committee
- questions PM policy 3 times a year
21
Q
what are the strength of the Liaison committee
A
- urgent debates can be scheduled on topics of national importance opportunity for MPs to question government e.g. COVID-19
- allocates time for select committees to conduct inquiries into government policies and actions
- reports and recommendations: helps coordinate work of select committees. These reports can put pressure on government to address specific concerns
22
Q
what are the weaknesses of the Liaison committee
A
- Lack of transparency: meetings with PM often kept private
- Limited direct scrutiny: responsible for coordinating and managing parliamentary timetable. Meetings with PM typically not adversarial or controversial
- Can be influenced by PM and Government
- limited powers
23
Q
what is the Privileges Committee
A
- ensures conduct of MPs and PM
- Unlike other select committees they can compel attendance of an MP based on vote in the committee
- chaired by MP from official opposition
- Forced Boris Johnson to resign after ‘partygate’
24
Q
what are Debates
A
- half hour adjournment debates at end of the day give MPs chance to raise issue
- MPs can request emergency debate speaker approves
- Many debates poorly attended except in times of crisis e.g. Neville Chamberlain during outbreak of war
- allows MPs to express view and try influence policy
- Topics which have shaped parliamentary agenda through debates is Hillsborough disaster but government can ignore motions from debates
25
Q
what is the BBBC
A
- Back bencher business committee (2010) give MPs more opportunity to shape agenda
- Decides topic for debate for roughly 1 day per year
26
Q
strengths of BBBC
A
- give backbench MPs greater say in timetable
- raise issues that normally wouldn’t be debated
- influenced policy such as fuel and alcohol duties
- Allocated time for public petitions which received 100,000 signatures led to petitions committee
27
Q
weaknesses of BBBC
A
- government can ignore motions passed during debates
- government allocates time for BBBC debates on short notice and in a Ad Hoc way
- government ignored critique from BBBC and changed elections which gave party groups greater say in election of members disadvantaging independent MPs
- 8 members of BBBC 7 from conservative and Labor only 1 from smaller party (SNP)
28
Q
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